Earlier today, Brian wrote about a pretty gnarly 1969 Chevelle that was dropped onto a NASCAR chassis. While the chassis itself is from a late 90’s Cup car, the fact that a late 60’s Chevelle body was dropped onto it had me thinking about late 60s racing, more specifically one of my favorite racing series from that time period, the Trans Am Series.
I was unfortunately born several decades too late to watch the Golden Era of Trans Am live, but thanks to the magic of youTube it is still possible to watch snippets of the footage that remains.
While there’s plenty of video available from the reunion races that are held semi-regularly, nothing beats actual footage from the late 60s and early 70s. Yes, modern day video quality is superior in every way, but I just don’t get the same feeling watching the reunion videos that I do when watching grainy and damaged footage of the originals; maybe it’s because I know that I could go buy a ticket for a vintage race series any time, while the packed crowds and fever that seems to accompany the 60s and 70s races is something that’s lost in time and only available via clips such as these.
Let’s start this off right with what is my current favorite. While it’s lacking the raw sound of those thunderous V8s thanks to a musical soundtrack, watching this video reminds me of that perfect summer day (Albeit one with more bellbottom jeans), the one that is gone before you know it.
Filmed at Mid-Ohio in 1970, it doesn’t matter that the footage itself is blown out and shot from what looks to be one of the spectator areas; this is what I imagine watching a Trans Am race back in 1970 actually felt like. If you don’t have speakers or headphone available, wait until you get home to watch it. I promise that it’s worth it.
This next clip is a little bit older, having been filmed in 1967 at Marlboro MD. I don’t know what I enjoy more: The tail-wagging action around the corners or the race commentator, who spouts off such gems as “…jammed as tight as nuts in a candy bar” and “…the lead is passed around faster than a good story at the Elks club picnic”. Lohnes, do you have any relatives in Maryland?
Now that we’ve set the mood, I’ll just put this out there now: If you clicked on the link for this blog item solely to hear the guttural screaming V8 engines and pure racing action, then this last video is for you.
I wish this clip was ten times longer than its roughly two and a half minute runtime, as I can’t get enough of watching both the drivers and the pit crew in action, especially the “fuel spilling, burning-rubber-out-of-the-pits-before-the-car-is-fully-off-the-jack” pit stops.
There we have it, three awesome videos of vintage Trans Am racing. If you know of any other original race footage, feel free to add it to the comments; I’d love to watch it!
Great little videos of the coolest cars in the coolest race series. This was the golden age. The cars look so freakin bad ass. Pro Touring cars need to look more like these. Will some one please get around to building an auto cross, pro touring Javelin with a blue, white and red paint job.